Column Buckling Calculator

Inputs

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Boundary condition used for the effective length K*L.
Unbraced column length between end restraints.
mm
Steel is about 200 GPa; aluminium about 69 GPa.
GPa
Use a solid round diameter, or enter known area moment of inertia and area.
Solid round column diameter. I = pi*d^4/64 and A = pi*d^2/4.
mm
Compressive load to compare against the Euler critical load.
N

Results

Default result
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Euler critical load (Pcr)
37,850 N
Pass

37.85 kN · 8,509 lbf

Pinned - pinned (K = 1.0) gives K = 1.

Pcr = pi^2*E*I/(K*L)^2.

Also computed

Load / Pcr (P/Pcr) Pass 0.2642

Applied compressive load divided by Euler critical load.

Effective length (K L) 1,000 mm

Slenderness ratio (K L / r) 160

Euler stress (Pcr/A) 77.11 MPa

Radius of gyration (r) 6.25 mm

Area moment of inertia (I) 1.917 cm⁴

Method notes 4 notes
  • Euler buckling load is Pcr = pi^2*E*I/(K*L)^2, where K*L is the effective length for the chosen end restraint.
  • Use the least moment of inertia I about the weak buckling axis. Slenderness is K*L/r, where r = sqrt(I/A).
  • Euler is an elastic long-column check. Short or intermediate columns need a yield/Johnson or code-based check, and real end fixity usually sits between ideal cases.
  • Initial crookedness, eccentric load, side load, local wall buckling and connection strength are not included.

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